Polestar may be facing a ban in the United States, but that won't stop the Swedish manufacturer from launching new products. The company released a business update on Thursday, announcing that it will produce a new model, the Polestar 7 compact SUV, in Europe.

There's been little news about the Polestar 7 - we haven't even seen a prototype - but the company says it will be a "very advanced SUV" with a "strong USP," or unique selling point. It's unclear when the car will go into production or even where in Europe it will be built. (Sweden appears to be a possible choice.)

Michael Lohscheller, the company's new chief executive, said: "We will be entering the compact SUV segment, which is the largest and fastest-growing segment in the world, and we will obviously make sure it has all the Polestar DNA."

This update, in the form of a professionally produced Lohscheller sit-down interview, does not touch on Polestar's regulatory issues in the United States. The Biden administration recently finalized a ban on connected car software from China, a move that Polestar said would "effectively ban" it from selling electric cars in the United States.

In fact, the United States is not mentioned at all in the 27-minute video — perhaps reflecting the strong headwinds electric vehicles face under the incoming Trump administration. Instead, the company said it expects to launch it soon in France, one of the fastest-growing markets for electric vehicles.

This represents a significant shift in the company's position from the past few years. Polestar is focusing on the U.S. market, launching the Polestar 3, a three-row SUV built at a plant in South Carolina to qualify for generous incentives from the Biden administration. EV sales looked strong when the Polestar 3 was launched, but have now slowed due to high prices, charging challenges and politics. Many of the incentives put in place by President Joe Biden may be eliminated under President-elect Donald Trump.

Polestar also announced its third-quarter earnings today (the company's earnings trail those of other companies), which included a net loss of $323 million. Its sales were 12,548 units, down 8% from the third quarter of 2023.

The company also said it no longer expects revenue in 2024 to be similar to 2023 and no longer expects gross margin to be positive in the fourth quarter. Instead, Polestar expects "revenue to be down around ten percent and gross margin to be negative, roughly the same as for full-year 2023, as the product mix in the fourth quarter is negatively impacted by lower-than-expected Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 sales." ”

But in the face of these challenges, Lochelle said he believes Polestar is still on the right track. He forecast "positive" adjusted earnings and free cash flow in 2025, with Polestar raising more money from business operations than losing money in 2027.

"Really, 2024 is a transitional year for Polestar," said Lohscheller, who previously served as CEO of Stellantis-owned Opel. "But I think we're well-positioned going into 2025 with the right vehicles, the right distribution and obviously a better focus on significantly reducing costs and improving efficiencies."